9 Ways You're Ruining Your Dyed Hair

Taking care of it properly will make your color last.

1. Shampooing the day after you dye your hairIt's one of the most common mistakes, but also one of the most costly. "After having your hair colored, wait a full 72 hours before shampooing," says Eva Scrivo, a hairstylist in New York City. "It takes up to three days for the cuticle layer to fully close, which traps the color molecule, allowing for longer lasting hair color."

2. Washing your hair too often"Color's worst enemy is water," colorist Ruth Roche told Good Housekeeping. The chemicals in hair dye make your hair more vulnerable to water's effects. This doesn't mean you need to stop taking showers  just make simple tweaks to your routine, like avoiding excessive rinsing:"Once you've shampooed and conditioned, don't tilt your head back and let the water just run over it for several minutes," says Teca Gillespie, a scientist with P&G. Instead of shampooing your hair every day, try using a dry shampoo at the roots to soak up oil.

3. Rinsing with hot waterAdjust your water temperature to lukewarm or cold when rinsing. Hot water lifts the outer cuticle layer, which is one of the most common reasons that color fades, says Scrivo. The hotter the water, the quicker the color loss.

4. Not using a conditioner for color-treated hairDyed hair is more likely to become dry and brittle, so treat it often with conditioners specifically formulated for color-treated hair. It helps create a protective barrier, which can prevent your dye from quickly washing out.

Make sure to condition every time you shampoo, even if you have fine hair. "You really want to make sure you condition the longest part of your hair," says Gillespie. "The tips can be years old and have the most damage, whereas the roots are only a couple of months old." Try using a leave-in conditioner for even more of a moisture boost.

5. Drying roughly with a towelScrubbing too hard can fade color and make the ends look dry, says Lisa Marie, VP of shows and education for Farouk Systems. Instead, gently blot your hair and let it air dry as much as possible.

7. Forgetting the glossy factorYour hair may be a gorgeous new color, but has it lost its shine? Your hair's protein layers (cuticles) reflect light and cause it to shine, but dye dulls this luster. To get that Kate Middleton-esque shine back, use an overnight hair repair treatment, spray-on gloss with a serum, shine spray, or an at-home glaze. And, again, cut back on the heat tools.

8. Over-exposing your hair to the sunIf you plan on spending lots of time in the sun, wear a hat to keep your hair color from fading or lightening.

9. Re-dyeing unevenlyWhen it's time for a touch up, carefully apply the color on the roots only. Then, just before you rinse out the color, Estelle Baumhauer, the Color Director at eSalon, suggests an emulsion technique, which will revive the color on the ends and add body and shine.

After you apply color to your roots, step into the shower and add a bit of water onto your hair, right on top of the color. Start massaging the color at your roots, similar to a shampooing motion. Thoroughly massage the color all the way down from roots to ends, adding more water as necessary. This whole process should take two minutes  just enough for a perfect refresher. Then proceed to rinse your hair.

Good Housekeeping already has an account with this email address. Link your account to use Facebook to sign in to Good Housekeeping. To insure we protect your account, please fill in your password below.

Your information has been saved and an account has been created for you giving you full access to everything goodhousekeeping.com and Hearst Digital Media Network have to offer. To change your username and/or password or complete your profile, click here.